Boy that title's a mouthful isn't it? It may sound strange to you at first, however, it's a very fitting title, which you'll discover early in the book.
This fictional novel is based on the true story of the German occupation of the Island of Guernsey which is a British Island that is very close to the coast of Normandy, France. During World War II, the Germans captured it in hopes of making it a base from which they could launch aircraft to attack England.
This story begins during the post war period with our protagonist, Juliet Ashton who is a writer living in London. She receives a letter from a gentleman on the island who purchased a book by Charles Lamb in which her name was written. Since they have a low supply of books on the island, he was hoping she could help him find more books for him written by Lamb. She honored his request and they soon became "pen pals".
In his correspondence, he tells her much about what happened on Guernsey during the occupation and about how the Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society came to be. This peaks her curiosity so much so that she begs her editor to let her write a book about it. Soon she begins a correspondence with other members of the society to obtain first hand accounts of their experiences and to learn more about one of its members who disappeared.
If you've seen the movie on Netflix, as much as you enjoyed it, it does venture rather far from the novel for my taste. I actually saw the movie before I read the book and I enjoyed it very much. However, the story in the book is much different. It has the same basic premise but the relationships and story line is not the same.
I loved this novel and I think you will too. I became just as intrigued by the letters Juliet received as she did. There was so much I didn't know about this little island or the occupation by the Germans. It's not something I learned in history class. American history probably didn't see this as something significant for us to study.
I give this one a five in my 1-5 system. I think the reader will enjoy the characters and learn a lot in the process.
This fictional novel is based on the true story of the German occupation of the Island of Guernsey which is a British Island that is very close to the coast of Normandy, France. During World War II, the Germans captured it in hopes of making it a base from which they could launch aircraft to attack England.
This story begins during the post war period with our protagonist, Juliet Ashton who is a writer living in London. She receives a letter from a gentleman on the island who purchased a book by Charles Lamb in which her name was written. Since they have a low supply of books on the island, he was hoping she could help him find more books for him written by Lamb. She honored his request and they soon became "pen pals".
In his correspondence, he tells her much about what happened on Guernsey during the occupation and about how the Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society came to be. This peaks her curiosity so much so that she begs her editor to let her write a book about it. Soon she begins a correspondence with other members of the society to obtain first hand accounts of their experiences and to learn more about one of its members who disappeared.
If you've seen the movie on Netflix, as much as you enjoyed it, it does venture rather far from the novel for my taste. I actually saw the movie before I read the book and I enjoyed it very much. However, the story in the book is much different. It has the same basic premise but the relationships and story line is not the same.
I loved this novel and I think you will too. I became just as intrigued by the letters Juliet received as she did. There was so much I didn't know about this little island or the occupation by the Germans. It's not something I learned in history class. American history probably didn't see this as something significant for us to study.
I give this one a five in my 1-5 system. I think the reader will enjoy the characters and learn a lot in the process.
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